Five Feet Apart(2019)

Plot Summary

• Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) is a cystic fibrosis (CF) patient who actively uses social media to cope with her illness and try to live a normal life. She meets another CF patient, Will Newman (Cole Sprouse), and they quickly develop feelings for each other. Will finds Stella's Vlog on YouTube, in which Stella discusses living with CF. Will is intrigued and watches every single video she posted.Stella's best friend, Poe, also has CF and is openly gay. He tells Stella that he broke up with his new boyfriend; Stelle later realizes Poe was pushing away because of his CF. Stella's sister, Abby, was the adventurous type and died a few years ago while she was cliff diving.CF patients are strictly kept at least six feet (1.8 m) apart to reduce the risk of cross-infection, as contracting bacterial infections from other CF patients can be life-threatening. Stella's nurse, Barbara, previously had a pair of romantically involved CF patients who died from cross-infection, and Barbara does not want to see this happen again.Will and Stella go on their first date but keep it secret, as the nurses wouldn't approve. During the date, they make sure to stay six feet apart. They eventually end up at the hospital pool, where they strip to reveal their scars from their past surgeries. They stare at each other and go for a swim together. Halfway through their date, Barbara notices that both Will and Stella aren't in their rooms. She immediately goes on a search to find them. They are aware of this, and quickly make it back to their rooms in time.Will is at the hospital for a medication trial, which is trying to get rid of the bacterial infection he had in his lungs. Stella notices that Will isn't strictly adhering to his treatment and she offers to let him draw her, in exchange for Will following his treatment regimen. Much of their interaction is mediated through video chat, and they arrange a second date.Stella's resolve to follow the six foot rule weakens, and she agrees to a second date with will, policed by a five-foot billiards cue. They walk around the hospital while holding opposite ends of the pool cue, falling further in love. Stella comes up with a scavenger hunt for Will's birthday, which catches him by surprise. It leads to Will meeting up with Stella, who leads him to a room filled with all of her and his friends. They have a huge feast that was made by Poe and shared a ton of laughs.Meanwhile, the nurses are catching on to Will's and Stella's relationship, and make the decision to transfer Will to another hospital in hopes of protecting both of them. As they are about to submit the transfer note, they got an alert from Poe's room. The nurses rush in to find him out cold on his hospital room's floor. A few more nurses enter the room; one gives CPR in hope that Poe will survive, but he never wakes up. Stella and Will are quick to find out what happened. Stella is in tears: Poe was her best friend and she never got to hug him.Stella then realizes that she is living life too strictly. She lets Will know that growing up, everyone was prepared for her to die, but she has been the only one to live. She said that after Abby's death, her parents death, and Poe's death, she has survivor guilt. She also tells him that it was her dream to see the lights, but it would require them to walk two miles (3.2 km) away from the hospital in the snow.As Will and Stella go to see the lights, Stella grabs Will's hand, which she justifies because she has gloves on. They come across a pond and slide around on the frozen surface. Meanwhile, the hospital is notified that after years of waiting, a lung transplant is available for Stella. She receives a bunch of texts asking where she is, but she ignores them to be with Will.Stella sits of a bridge, but then falls off while Will is distracted. She fell through the ice and Will pulls her out of the water. The shock of the cold water has made Stella unresponsive and put her into cardiac arrest. Ignoring the risk of infection, Will performs CPR and Stella wakes up. They make their way back to the hospital and Stella learns that she didn't catch the infection from Will.When Stella wakes up from her surgery, she sees Will through the glass of her room. He tells her that he only has a month to live, and he doesn't want her to have to go through his death like all the other deaths she went through. He tells her goodbye and doesn't know what is to come in terms of him and her. Before he goes, he makes her close her eyes, because he said he wouldn't be able to leave if she was looking at him. She closes her eyes and he walks away.

Storyline

• Seventeen-year-old Stella spends most of her time in the hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries and self-control all of which get put to the test when she meets Will, an impossibly charming teen who has the same illness. There's an instant flirtation, though restrictions dictate that they must maintain a safe distance between them. As their connection intensifies, so does the temptation to throw the rules out the window and embrace that attraction. Love has no boundaries.